


Nathan and his Father Play a Game

by Nocticola



Category: Haven (TV)
Genre: Episode: s01e13 Spiral, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Nathan's backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-10 12:11:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11126757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nocticola/pseuds/Nocticola
Summary: Small insight into Nathan's relationship with his (bio)father.





	Nathan and his Father Play a Game

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Max squeezing Nathan's shoulder in 1x13 Spiral to check whether his Trouble is active.

There’s a game Nathan’s father only plays with him. It’s called ‘Can You Feel This?’ They’ve played it as long as Nathan can remember, which isn’t actually that long a time since Nathan is still young. They play it when Nathan’s father is angry, or smells weird, or when Nathan’s already gotten hurt, by accident (or by his father). Nathan never wins at the game and he hates it. In the game, Nathan’s father squeezes Nathan’s shoulder until Nathan cannot keep silent anymore from the pain. He tries to be quiet as long as possible, to keep his father’s anger away or contained. But he can never stay quiet until his father gets bored of the game (Nathan suspects that he cheats, even though he’s not quite sure how that would work). Nathan’s father waits for the first sound Nathan makes and then he gets angry. Anger is followed by punishment. On the good days, Nathan’s father just yells about bastards and unfaithful wives. Some days the words are worse. Sometimes Nathan’s shoulder is not the only part of his body that still hurts the next day.  
***  
By the time Nathan could win at the game, at age 7, he has already forgotten his father and the game they played. He still doesn’t like people touching his shoulder.  
***  
When Nathan is 34 years old, the game (and his father) make a comeback. He wins at the game for the first and only time and his father is finally proud.


End file.
